Trump: Turkey hosts 4 million refugees and Europe must shoulder its responsibilities towards refugees
Erdogan: Syria's "safe zone" should be under our control
Trump: The United States left troops in Syria only to secure oil
 |
| An AFP photo of President Donald Trump, meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan |
Trump greeted his Turkish counterpart Erdogan at the White House for a high-stakes meeting Wednesday that underlined his claim to be ignoring the impeachment drama unfolding simultaneously in Congress.
Trump says during a meeting with Erdogan that the ceasefire in Syria is coherent.
"It's a great honor to be with President Erdogan...the ceasefire is holding very well, we've been speaking to the Kurds & they seem to be very satisfied, as you know we pulled back our troops quite a while ago.
"It's a great honor to be with President Erdogan...the ceasefire is holding very well, we've been speaking to the Kurds & they seem to be very satisfied, as you know we pulled back our troops quite a while ago.
Trump on Syria: "Because I think it's time for us not to be worried about other people's borders, I want to worry about our borders, we've got plenty of borders to worry about...We're keeping the oil, we have the oil, the oil is secure, we left troops behind only for the oil.
A Senior @StateDept Official told reporters yesterday that "U.S. forces in northeast Syria are there under an authorization to fight terrorism, specifically to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS," calling the securing of oil one of the "secondary missions" that "flow from that"
Trump said: "I have to just finish by saying that the President and I have been, we've been very good fiends, we have been friends for a long time, almost from day one, and we understand each other's country, we understand where we're coming from"
Trump says he & Erdogan will discuss Turkey's acquisition of the Russian-made S-400 & its impact on its getting the F-35. Trump does not offer a condemnation of Turkey's incursion targeting America's Kurdish allies & does not bring up allegations of war crimes by Turkish proxies
President Trump at his joint press conference with Turkey's President Erdogan, says the two leaders had "a wonderful and very productive meeting," saying they had "a frank and productive" conversation about a range of issues, including Syria
Trump: "Today the ceasefire continues to hold...We've assured each other that Turkey will continue to uphold what it's supposed to uphold. I'm a big fan of the President...I know that the ceasefire, while complicated, is moving forward & moving forward at a very rapid clip"
Erdogan accuses the SDF's Kurdish YPG of being terrorists & attacking Turkish forces. A Senior State Department official said there was no threat to Turkey & no cross border attacks until Turkey launched its offensive, calling Turkish concerns "chimerical"
Erdoğan said: PKK / YPG organization is carrying out attacks to break the agreement. We remain committed to our agreement with the United States.
Turkey has 3,650,000 Syrian refugees and more than 4 million refugees in total, says Erdogan. The operations of the "Euphrates Shield" and "Olive Branch" resettle more than 300 thousand Syrian refugees
Erdogan criticizing the House of Representatives from a podium in the White House is really something.
More to follow...
No comments